Winter Wanderers
by PurePower
Summary: Two People Wandering the earth, in search of something. But they can escape the cold and find their warmth, only if they look to the past. But will they kill each other before that? Will they forever remain winter wanderers...


**Author's Corner**

Well here's my second one-shot. Different? – "Quite", I should say. But you be the judge of that.

**Disclaimer** – I do not own Inuyasha. (Cruel fate)

**No Flames** – If you don't like the characters; don't read. Moving on…

**Italics** : indicates what happened in the past

* * *

**Winter Wanderers**

Chill winter winds swept across a frozen lake and beyond, where trees stood naked and the land lay covered in thick blankets of white. Shy moonlight seeped through gently falling snowflakes creating the illusion of hundreds of sparkling diamonds fluttering down to touch the cold face of mother earth. The moonbeams through the diamonds lit the surrounding tree barks with pulsing incandescent lights; feeding the forest with simple glows to help alleviate it (to a certain extent) from the darkness of a mid-winter night.

Fragmented shadows smudged the one clear path that led out of the barren forest, instilling fear in any who dared to use it…

But a single figure, trudged gracefully through the mass of white, her long raven locks hanging free and beautiful behind her; clearly profiled against the surrounding white and the ashy white of the thick fur coat that kept her warm and camouflaged; from the outside world.

This singular beauty let the snowflakes slide off her silky hair and cared not for the cold or the shadows that loomed about her; for she had fought the very son of fear and darkness and won… earning her-self another chance to live and in the process… loosing the mental state that was fear.

Now, others feared her.

They feared her for her beauty and they feared her for her power. She had become a legendary symbol of peace …among humans and terror …among demons. For nearly a century now, she has remained untouchable by humans and unconquerable by demons. She was far too precious a jewel to be bound to mere mortal men and far too pure to be enslaved by demons. She was the life form that held the complete power of the Shikon No Tama within her; always glowing… always free… always powerful and always ……_untouchable_!

She had overcome death; to become ever-living; to become part of the earth's life essence; to become an endless source of light; to become... the true identity destined for the beautiful bellflower… "Kikyo" – 'The Empress of Light'.

The suffering she had endured as a mortal woman and as the undead had been rewarded by making her the very guardian of all lives that existed; she was the **balance**_between** good **_**and_ evil_**!

Kikyo was a figure that had endured through the ages as loved ones and friends grew old and died.

Kikyo had an abundance of friends and allies, but as the years passed, her power and her destiny took her further and further away from those around her.

Even now she was not without friends and allies, but they were no more than the strictest forms of the words. She had long since lost any connection between herself and another human. Now, she mostly keeps to herself; moving where ever the wind took her and feeling content in doing so.

Kikyo was about to cross a clearing in the forest when her powers picked up a powerful demon aura.

She stopped instantly and scanned the white landscape in front of her; only her deep blue orbs giving off the slightest hint of movement.

"Come out demon." she called to the wind. "I can sense you. You cannot hide from me."

Except for the eerie sound of the wind, no other audible noise originated from the white walled surroundings.

"Hm!" a voice smirked out of the depths, its pitch mixing well with that of the wind. "I never hide."

Kikyo looked straight and forward. All she saw was ashen snow.

Kikyo was about to challenge the demon again when …two golden orbs appeared against the pallid white in front of her.

As soon as Kikyo saw the two golden eyes, she knew immediately to whom they belonged.

Suddenly the white in front of her shivered under some smooth movement.

The light snow that had covered the form of the demon, fell away… revealing a white clad figure with a single sword at his side and long silver hair that could faintly be discerned from the white snow behind him.

Here stood another being that had placed itself above the mere mental state of fear. But he had gone so far as to not only overcome it, but become it himself. _He_ …was the true, beautiful, raw and ultimate disciple of fear. His name alone spoke volumes of the destruction and fatality he was capable of causing. His legend was one that has existed for several centuries. He was the legend that everyone knew about; but were too afraid to converse.

The one true symbol that he (if ever) stood for …was _power_. He didn't have two sides to himself; he was the ultimate terror to both …humans **and** …demons.

The only being he had protected had passed away peacefully and was forever buried in his past, **_but never to be forgotten_** – her last wish upon the mystic sword… still had its power over him and would continue to do so, forever… for such was the impression the once little girl left on him.

He was one who never gained power; but was born with it. His power was unchallenged and his birthright; 'the Tenseiga', made that all the more evident. Within him resided the pure demon beast born of powerful blood lines; always standing out… always wild… always powerful… and _**completely** untouchable_!

He was the destroyer of fate and destiny; for he had the power to give life as well as take it. His birth on this earth was the singular miracle among demons… and his father had always known that; thus the reason he had forged Tenseiga – 'the life fang'.

He had faced death, but death had never been able to conquer him and as a result; he grew in strength and wisdom; he became part of the earth; he became immortal to failure; he became… that which was not part of his destiny… "Sesshoumaru" – 'The Killing Perfection'.

The pain and loss he had endured at his mother's passing and the hate that sprung from it froze his heart, leaving him incapable of feeling; which had been rewarded by making him the destroyer of the circle of life; and now he was… the perfect epitome of **both**… **_good… _and_ …evil_**!

He had no use for friends and he had no loved ones. His power and his pride ensured that none could take any such position. The only entity he had a connection with was his sword, and he always kept to himself; going where he chose to – even against the wind, but never feeling content in doing so, for no matter where he went, he was never able to find what he was looking for.

"Why are you here?" Kikyo asked in a deadpan tone.

"To kill you." he answered simply.

The wind howled in protest.

"It was your _desire_ to kill me that kept you standing in one place all this time." Kikyo observed rhetorically.

"Patience is one of my virtues." he said with narrowed eyes, wondering why he chose to answer her.

Kikyo slowly slid the thick fur coat off and let it drop to the snow covered ground; giving her more freedom to move.

"Why is it that you seek to kill me Sesshoumaru?" Kikyo asked before her own eyes narrowed.

Kikyo already knew the answer to that question. Her power and presence in his part of the lands had caused him some grievances with his subjects. Sesshoumaru was one who never let an insult to his person or his strength go unnoticed. She was the cause of it… therefore she had to be killed.

Sesshoumaru ignored her question this time.

"I am far too powerful for you to defeat Sesshoumaru." Kikyo informed with little interest.

"You presume too much." he informed her in return.

"You have great power and you think you can own the world?"

Sesshoumaru smirked with closed eyes.

"I will always own that which belongs to me priestess."

"That ends today Sesshoumaru," Kikyo's hands glowed a bright pink. "Today… you die."

Sesshoumaru walked forward slowly; every step evenly paced and steady even in the thick white.

Kikyo waited till he was no more than a short distance in front of her; she stretched out her arm and in a flash an arrow formed completely from purification power and shot towards the approaching demon.

Sesshoumaru shot into the air and landed no more than a foot in front of her; the arrow harmlessly disappeared into the snow behind him.

Mere moments passed by and Kikyo had clawed fingers wrapped around her throat.

Sesshoumaru smirked in satisfaction.

But Kikyo gave no more, except for a smirk of her own.

"You underestimated me demon." she informed in an obvious tone.

Sesshoumaru suddenly found himself pushed back into the air; his chest very hot from where she had shot him with purification power.

Kikyo's nemesis landed gracefully on the snow and after quiet deliberation let his armor drop to the ground; it was of no use against her power.

"Perhaps I did." he agreed.

The two foes observed each other in predictable silence; how much they had in common… yet they were worlds apart.

They were both one of the most powerful of their kind; perhaps they were the most powerful. But they were born on opposite sides of the sun, if one was born when the sun rose then the other when the sun set. They had the grace and the beauty to dull the blue sphere of the night sky, but she let it reflect in the pools that she bathed alone in and he let it reflect in the eyes of those he was about to kill; their beauty and gentle grace were wasted on things that could never compare to their own. If only they chose to allow each other a glimpse into their ability to love and to protect; she would have found a heart to share her love with and he would have found a soul to cherish forever.

As another chill wind whipped across their faces; the only thoughts on their minds were the ones that formulated ways to cause the demise of the other.

"What is holding you back Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes first widened slightly before narrowing in irritation at Kikyo's observant question.

"Do I scare you?"

Sesshoumaru had to consider that question. He did fear something, which surprised him! But what he found hard to muster was the inability he had to find out the cause of his fear. It certainly couldn't be the powerful woman standing in front of him! Could it?

"You've… made me think twice." he replied truthfully; taking his own time.

It was Kikyo's turn to ponder; Sesshoumaru was a person who never thought twice on the subject of something he had already made his mind about. Kikyo was not able to think of how to react to his statement and what to make of it. But was there anything to make of it at all or was it just a simple statement that held no deeper meaning than the simplest form of the words used?

"You are not one to deliberate over such things." the fair maiden reminded him tactfully; hoping he would elaborate on his statement or at least shed a reason for the rather unexpected use of words used to describe her apparent unintended influence on him.

He looked away from her and at the barely visible moon.

"True," he agreed. And then he unsheathed the Tenseiga in one quick motion. "It will not happen again."

The momentary lapse in her defenses were righted with anger now tracing itself around the edges; how foolish she was to think that he had held back for a possible good cause, a reason that was built on good.

Tenseiga cut the air in front of him and sent a wave of blue power towards his female foe.

Kikyo barely strained under the barrier she had erected in front of her as the power of the mystic sword clashed against it.

Sesshoumaru stood in irritation; his powerful sword hadn't even cracked her shield. It had merely caused ripples on the surface and nothing more.

Kikyo glared at him in animosity. The barrier folded and then transformed itself into thick beams of power and sped to meet him.

Tenseiga failed to make a scratch on her barrier; it certainly wouldn't be able to fend off the two beams that were headed his way!

Sesshoumaru deftly leapt into the air and landed softly atop a high limb of a dead tree to his initial right.

The two silent figures locked gazes once more; one with the wind playing gently with her hair and the other with the wind pushing his locks and fury pelt forward. Neither of them had any visible motives to start moving… at least not for a few moments more.

"Am I the most powerful foe you have encountered?" Kikyo asked with sublime indifference, and then cursed herself for having opened room for another conversation. 'Why can I not kill him and finish this? Why am I asking purposeless questions?'

Sesshoumaru made a gentle smirk as his mind produced him with images to answer her question. But Sesshoumaru could not understand why he was yet again going to do what he did not want to do in the slightest. Answer her question!

"Perhaps," But then he added, "You remind me of Naraku." That was his way of making up for the failure to ignore her and to make sure she knew he wasn't interested in the least about what she thought… about anything, including him.

Kikyo's aura flared around her; her previous anger more than doubled at his open comparison of her to that wretched soul Naraku. 'How dare he place me in the same sentence with that pathetic excuse for a life!'

"Is that your best effort at dull humor Sesshoumaru? For if it was, then be informed that it does not amuse me in the slightest."

There was a blur of movement and again Sesshoumaru appeared in front of her, but he stood not even a foot away, leaving her absolutely no room to stretch her hands out in front.

"This Sesshoumaru does not humor anyone." His warmth breath caressed the skin leading down her neck and the top of her chest.

Eyes locked in a heated gaze, warming the chill air that passed in-between their bodies.

Without warning or understanding, Kikyo pulled herself against his body and embraced his lips with hers; instantly chasing away the cold that had settled there previously.

Sesshoumaru was stunned, was to say the least. But his body did not react in surprise like he thought it should. Instead, it allowed her hungry hands to sweep across its length and breadth, as if it had no choice but to allow her to what was rightfully hers…

_Cascading rays of yellow light dampened the foggy morning with such carnivorous intensity, that the few remaining patches of snow that froze the buds of flowers, melted away into gentle dew, before dripping off the now exposed petals and descending, in shimmering drops of pure liquid; its taste, sweeter than that of the water in the fresh pools of new spring. Winter had lost its welcome and was rightfully shunned away, so that the next season of the year could take its place in time, cast its glow and have its own effect on the beautiful lands and on the creatures that depended on its life source._

_A demon with long silver white hair that dominated the length of his body at his back and golden orbs that scintillated in acknowledgement of the rising sun; it's rival since the day they had first opened, stood under a tree that had fresh blooming flowers that enveloped its head and let the musings of his mind keep him occupied till the woman who was sleeping in his borrowed pelt, awoke._

_Cold, golden steel orbs stared out over the hills and valleys, their powerful gaze intimidating the blooming flowers, and daring new life to root itself without prior acknowledgment and respect of their presence. The frozen pools, that were his eyes, made a momentary glance down, to look at the silken skinned maiden, who seemed to be the essence and beauty of spring all year long, sleeping peacefully with her arms bent upwards on either side and her fair eyelids that stemmed long black eyelashes; which kept hidden the beauty of the blue inside, as his pelt spread across her like an autumn color on a beautiful leaf._

_Sesshoumaru was not one for waiting on others, but every-time he contemplated waking her up, he would hesitate, for a reason he was not too clear about. After several repeats of this, he unwillingly concluded/admitted that the peaceful slumber she was in, was something that he did not want to be held accountable for disturbing. But he highly doubted that anything else would wake her up, for not a single creature of the forest, small or big, would dare approach, when he stood so close to her. However, Sesshoumaru wasn't made to endure for much longer._

_A large drop of dew fell squarely on her check, instantly chilling her consciousness to awaken. Tired eyes fluttered open to take in the clear light of a new morn. She hesitated to get up, on feeling the softness that encircled her body, but the demon aura she felt next to her made her do otherwise. Wearily, she sat herself up to first look at the sun that was rising up through the distant hills and then at the demon who stood standing next to her._

_Neither said a word, but merely tried to put off the conversation they knew would probably have to come._

_She started first…_

"_Thank you for your concern." she voiced, hiding the appreciativeness in her tone._

_He said nothing._

_She frowned slightly, but hid it under expressionless features._

"_Perhaps I had best be going." she informed with slight apprehension._

_Again he said nothing,_

_Kikyo was patient, but she was not about to put up with his stuck up personality and his inability to respond._

_Climbing to her feet gracefully, she gathered his pelt in her arms and dusted it once, though nothing had got stuck to it from the clean wet moist grass, and winced when slight pain shot up through her right arm; muscle pains from the previous nights' final battle. Recovering quickly and showing no trace or hint of even slight discomfort, she pressed the fur blanket into his idle hand. But upon impact of his body, the pelt glowed a gentle blue before it curled up his body on its own and joined him across his right shoulder; returning to its rightful place._

_Kikyo was almost caught in a look of wonder after having witnessed what had just happened, but her expression remained faultless and as impassive ever._

_She looked at him one last time before turning to leave. She was mid-step in her first stride away from him, when he caught her arm and pulled her close to his chest, to face him._

_Kikyo remained motionless in his embrace as she let him scrutinize her eyes and allowed his warm breath to spiral down her neck and heat her chest. She remained motionless as he wrapped his arm around her and let his claws gently tease her skin on the way._

_He moved his eyes away from hers, slowly; like the moments that the sun used before it set, to look at her red lips. She arched into him and lifted her head; all without the slightest hint of any movement on her part._

_Sesshoumaru found himself in the perfect position to guide his lips down to hers._

_Like the slow shadow cast by the teasing twilight, before day embraced night, he unhurriedly lowered his face upon hers. His lips captured hers with a soft touch and remained still as they inhaled each others scented tang. The flowers took this opportunity to fully bloom in strength and number before his aura spiked again, unlike the gentle hum it seemed to be reveling in at the moment._

_But Sesshoumaru pulled away; easily, because Kikyo did not have her arms wrapped around him like he had around her, and then narrowed his eyes at her. She didn't respond; she just stared blankly at him._

_Sesshoumaru turned. "I have to go." he said in a half-irritated one._

_Behind him Kikyo's eyes widened. But hadn't he just kissed her? And now he wants to leave?_

_But far be it from Kikyo, to ask a demon for what she wanted in all of this, so she said nothing._

_Sesshoumaru waited silently for a response that never came. He had had enough. Without any further word, he walked away._

_Kikyo watched his retreating figure for a few moments, before she too gathered up the few things she had, and walked away in the other direction; as if nothing had happened._

_The days they had journeyed together, the obstacles and battle they had fought together and finally the first kiss they had shared together… never happened. It was put at the back of the furthest reaches of her mind; to be locked away and killing its pure deserving light and to be forgotten._

Her fingers grasped his silver locks and squeezed them as she pulled him further down into her mouth. Putting her other arm around his neck, she lifted herself closer into his chest and closed her eyes in pleasure; pleasure that she had only once felt , nearly a century ago, pleasure that she had been wanting for so long but knew she could never find anywhere else, except in his arms. But wait!

Sesshoumaru didn't have his arms wrapped around her. One was still holding the sword and the other lay hanging, uninterested, at his side.

Kikyo immediately pulled away from him.

Angry blue eyes stared vehemently at expressionless molten gold.

Before Sesshoumaru could react in a way suitable to his manner, for the way in which he had been treated just then, a violent blast of power crashed into him, sending him sliding through the snow for several meters before his muscles flexed to stop his movement.

Void of expression, Sesshoumaru looked down at the singe in his silk; a little smoke misted itself away. Inside the silk, his chest was burning, but he thought it strange that Tenseiga had been able to protect him as much as it had.

The blue aura that had enveloped him shimmered away and his burns healed instantly.

Golden eyes looked up to find Kikyo with her aura swirling around her.

"You still reject me!" she accused, her voice laced with the power that she held.

Sesshoumaru curved an eyebrow upwards. 'What is that woman talking about?'

But before he had time to think any further, another arrow found itself speeding towards him.

Sesshoumaru had had enough; easily sidestepping the arrow he darted towards Kikyo, and knocked her down with his free arm.

Kikyo, with her anger still seething, found herself pinned flat against the ground with his blade held fractions away from the tender skin on her neck.

She looked up at him with narrow eyes and then reactively tried to punch him with her right arm.

Sesshoumaru caught the punch and pinned her arm above her head; bringing his face down closer to hers.

She shocked him several times with her power but each time Tenseiga visibly countered; making him feel the prick of a thousand needles on his skin, but nothing more.

"Stay still woman!" he yelled at her, having finally lost his cool.

Kikyo stopped her struggling immediately and remained perfectly motionless; her eyes wide at how his commanding voice had rendered her almost still.

The seal broke away, unable to hold back the sweet moments and the final bittersweet memory of when they had parted that spring morn, with their first and last kiss, nearly a century ago. The thoughts and the pain that she had felt that day broke out of the weakened black damn, and pooled up in her reservoir of current thoughts; drowning her in lethargy and hurtful regret. Regret that she had let him walk away that day…

Kikyo's arm squirmed its way out of his iron grip and gently rose into the air till it graced his face. She had never felt his face before; her delicate fingers traced the magenta stripes that barricaded the beast within from emerging, and then moved onto the crescent moon that adorned his temple as a sign of his powerful lineage and royalty. The two blue windows to her soul followed the movements of her fingers with unexplainable passion as she combed through the sharp pointy bangs that fell at the front. Her body grew warm, flushing out the chill she was feeling along the length of the back of her body that lay pressed into the thick snow, as she realized that she had the personification of incredible power… at her fingertips. Her heart raced in content, for she knew that only her fingers had ever touched his skin like that and no one else's.

Kikyo sighed softly as she remembered the fact that he hadn't wanted her that day and apparently still didn't. But lying below him, here in the chill of winter, and being able to caress his face, made Kikyo cherish every moment and embrace the subtle pleasures for as long as they lasted.

Sesshoumaru remained as still as a statue, his eyes focused solely on her blue ones, watching several different emotions flicker through them, emotions he had never seen run through her before, not even on that last day when he had kissed her. He secretly wondered whether this was the same woman whom he could not help but embrace as the threat of her departure became all too real. That day, his pride had paled before a feeling he had never experienced till then, a feeling he knew nothing about, but was present all the same. He had feared that he might never see her again. He had feared that her presence, no matter how irritable or disdainful as could be sometimes, would no longer be the one shining thing to stand beside him; to fill the emptiness of his lost Rin, and the void of a desolate soul. Though he never expressed it or even appreciated it, her presence beside him during the time they journeyed together was the ephemeral warmth within the cold walls that he had le himself be entrapped in; she was the one good thing in his life… after his little Rin.

Sesshoumaru was momentarily cradled out of his thoughts when he felt her hand glide over the silk of his chest and seemed to linger a little longer near his heart. But Sesshoumaru recalled that even though he had managed to reach out to her through the thick walls of ice that encased his heart… she had rejected him that day. She had showed no emotion and hadn't said a word after he kissed her or even when he told her he had to leave. Whatever the feeling that he was experiencing, she didn't share it. He was left alone to mull over things he knew next to nothing about. He thought she was his answer, but she had only given him more questions and doubts to none of which he could formulate a solution or an understanding.

But here she was, today, lying below him, her eyes full of emotion and her hand caging his body, trying to trap him in its hold. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes, wondering whether this was some kind of trick she was playing on him to capture him in her web and then end his life.

Taking a chance and repositioning the blade safely beside her on the ground, he asked, "What are you doing?"

Kikyo's wandering hand stopped immediately as her eyes focused on his. She wondered whether he was insane. But what troubled her the most, was that she found she could not answer him, or at least answer him in a way suitable to his expectations. So instead, she chose the easy way out.

"Nothing!" she answered, turning her face away from him and letting the snow freeze her rosy skin.

"Do not dismiss your actions as nothing woman," Sesshoumaru warned in feeble anger. "I demand that you explain yourself."

"I owe you no explanation." She spat out, turning to look at him.

Sesshoumaru let go of the sword and wrapped his fingers around her neck once more. Kikyo refused to back down and remained fervently silent.

"You will explain yourself priestess." Sesshoumaru insisted.

"Why should I," Kikyo shot back. "When you gave me none?"

Her free left hand grasped his lower throat, but failed to make any intimidation as he felt not the slightest discomfort.

"And to what do I owe an explanation?" Sesshoumaru questioned with both irritation and anger. She wasn't making any sense to him.

To his surprise, his question caused Kikyo's face to turn into one of beautiful rage. Her eyes seemed to shoot lightning bolts at him. The beast within him didn't take likely to this, and without him meaning to; a low but definitive growl escaped his mouth.

Kikyo, once again found her self completely still as a result of the sound that came from his mouth, be that words or a growl. His authoritative tone had twice subdued her, but what Kikyo found most irritating was the fact that she couldn't help but surrender to him, be that willing or unwilling.

Releasing her ineffective grip on his neck, she asked, "Why do you mock me Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru rewarded the submissive gesture by releasing his own grip around her neck, after which he informed, "I do not mock you priestess. I do not know of what you speak."

He eyed her carefully for any violent reactions, but when none came, he repeated his question, "To what do I owe an explanation?"

She stared at him in silence for a few moments and then on realizing that he in fact did not know, she released her other hand of its grip on his silk. Kikyo didn't know whether to be more furious at him or just give up; his eyes showed that he clearly did not understand what she was talking about. Kikyo rested her hands on her chest, palms down, and sighed in hope-less disappointment.

Sesshoumaru didn't know what to make of her sigh. Women could be so utterly unreadable sometimes! He truly believed that their minds worked on a completely different plane where no man, demon or human could survive in sanity long enough to understand what it is exactly that they are thinking of or want. Sesshoumaru had to do some considerable re-thinking about his placing of the priestess in a position where he understood her to be completely different from all other females. She was in so many ways, different, but some things, he supposed, never change. The workings of a woman's mind, was probably at the top of the list.

Kikyo thought of smiling at the frown that had come upon his face, but she had long learnt that there was more likeliness for water to run upstream than for her to smile.

"That day you kissed me, but then you turned and left," Kikyo reminded in mental anguish. "Why, Sesshoumaru? Why did you not want me?"

Finally Sesshoumaru understood. No! Wait! He didn't understand. It was she who hadn't wanted him. She was the one who had remained dead in his arms and cold to his touch. What does she mean by him rejecting her?

"Was I not good enough? Was I not powerful enough? Was I… was I not… beautiful enough?"

Kikyo's body shivered as she suddenly felt very cold. Her strength that had grown and kept growing, her strength that had protected her and saved so many others… was now waning under the power of memories that celebrated the sweet tang of the few joyous moments she had had, with _him._

Sesshoumaru didn't know what to say. There were so many things to say, but he couldn't seem to find the right words. So he opted to do the next best thing; answer by action…

He wrapped his arm under and around her waist while his other hand held the back of her neck. Lifting her upper body off the ground, he crushed her lips with his. Her lips melted into his and he reveled in them, for they were full of warmth and love that burned like flames, so completely different from how she had been that day. And this time his actions were returned, her arms encircled his body as best they could and crushed him with a sense of want and belonging, a feeling that he himself had found only in her eyes. The wind that had always tried to lead her to him and the wind that had tried fervidly to lead him to her, finally met, and joining together, they circled the two in a gentle current, trapping the snowflakes and lifting them back into the sky in increasing, curving circles of sparkling stars.

Finally breaking away from the kiss, Kikyo looked at him for an explanation, any explanation.

Lifting her up and then placing her in his lap, Sesshoumaru searched for a way to open his account.

Finally on thinking of a suitable opening, he began with the words, "You are the most beautiful women I have laid eyes upon. Do not doubt that, for it is not a complement but a truth. I had not the slightest intention of letting you go that day, but I thought that it was you who did not wish to be with me."

Kikyo's eyes widened in surprise and she asked, "Why did you think that?"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes as he replayed the memory, and replied, "You did not return my kiss or my embrace."

Kikyo was speechless. Was such a little thing to blame for him leaving her, she wondered. But Kikyo understood that in all the time she had know him, he had never expressed emotion or had physical contact with her. Her failure to return his actions, must have seemed like rejection to him, after all, he had never acted as such with her before. Kikyo realized with bitter pain, the mistake she had made. The mistake they had both made had separated them for a century.

"I apologize, Sesshoumaru," Kikyo said placing a hand upon his cheek. "I was caught unaware, and did not know how to react. But I never wanted you to leave. I wanted you to stay with me. I… wanted you to love me. And I… had already fallen in love with you."

Kikyo buried her head in his chest, unwilling to let any tears form in her eyes, and if they did, unwilling to let them fall.

The two, sat under the night sky in silence, as the dance of the snowflakes continued around them, only lessening in number and not in beauty.

"I should not have been so quick to assume your lack of response as a sign of you not wanting the same thing I did." Sesshoumaru admitted regretfully.

"I suppose we are both to blame." Kikyo concluded as her head rested against his chest. "Our indifference in expressing ourselves was what lead to us having this conversation and revelation now, rather than nearly a century ago."

Sesshoumaru looked down at the woman who had her eyes closed in what he knew, was silent joy. "We cannot change who we are."

"We don't have to." Kikyo assured. "We only need learn how to adjust. We have the time and we have each other."

Sesshoumaru wrapped his arm around her and tightened his embrace. He approved of her solution and he warmed at the last few words she had uttered.

"Kikyo…" Sesshoumaru whispered, loud enough only for her and the wind to hear. "I love you."

She smiled unseen to his eyes, snuggled in closer and said, "I know…"

And so she found a heart to share her love with, and he found a soul to cherish forever. Kikyo would change him as time goes by, and would even give him twin children; a boy and a girl. And one day his destiny would become the same as that of hers. But on this mid-winter night, Kikyo had burned through his icy heart, and though he may forever remain cold, she was now trapped with him, within those walls of ice, never to be alone, never to be distanced, never to be separated but to always, be loved. Their hearts and their souls had found each other and now, they would never have to… _Wander_ again…

* * *

Hope you enjoyed. You should read "Unexpected" and "Then there was you" - Both really good fics. from which I drew things out for my story. One more thing, as author's we work hard to write fics., so if you do read this, please leave a review, coz it' s the only pleasure/pay/encouragement we get for our work. So pls. be kind enough to leave your thoughts… 


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